Wisconsin's Nick Toon grabs a pass in the end zone for a touchdown against NIU's Jimmie Ward at Soldier Field in Chicago on Sept. 17, 2011.

Green Bay --- The last two years, the top safety went higher than most expected. Kenny Vaccaro was drafted 15th overall by New Orleans. Mark Barron went seventh overall to Tampa Bay.

Considering just how important the position is -- rewind the Super Bowl -- it'd be no surprise if Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Calvin Pryor were long gone by the time the Green Bay Packers picked at No. 21 overall.

What's left? Plenty, says former NFL G.M. Phil Savage, the director of the Senior Bowl. The first name he brings up is Northen Illinois' Jimmie Ward.

“Jimmie Ward is extremely versatile. He’s kind of the guy that is a counter to the tight ends we just talked about," Savage said. "Though he is a bit undersized, he’s got some cover ability as an in-the-box, nickel or dime safety. He will tackle. He’s got excellent ball skills."

If the Packers do go with the best available player at another position in the first round -- no shocker considering they didn't even draft a safety last year -- Terrence Brooks, Ed Reynoldsand Ward are a few second- or third-round possibilities. All are very different. As discussed in the blog last week, Brooks lit up his pre-draft workouts and the bigger Reynolds flashed playmaking ability two seasons ago.

Ward lacks size at only 5 foot 11, 193 pounds. Yet albeit in a smaller conference, he probably was used in more ways than the others.

So if you're the Packers, what do you covet at safety next to Morgan Burnett?

Northern Illinois defensive coordinator Jay Niemann said he used Ward in just about every way possible.

"He was playing in deep zones," Niemann said. "He played in underneath zones. He played down as an eighth man in the box. He played man to man on slot receivers. He blitzed. I mean, he did everything. While I’m sure they wouldn’t use him that extensively within a system in the NFL, it does show you that he can do a lot of different things.”

Using Ward as a nickel corner helped the Huskies confuse offenses. Niemann could disguise his coverages. If he wanted to go man to man, there was no need to stick another corner on the field. Ward could handle it.

"Offensively speaking," Niemann said, "looking at our defense you couldn’t always tell like you can in some cases when you’re going to be in man vs. zone.”

Size is the question. A lack of bulk cost M.D. Jennings at times. While Ward gives a defense flexibility in covering a tight end or slot receiver, coaches probably won't be bringing him near the line of scrimmage to stop the run.

“Well, that’s the biggest issue that people probably wrestle with," Niemann said of Ward's size. "He’s 5-11 and probably in the 190’s right now. The thing of it is, when you watch him tackle, he just doesn’t miss tackles and he’s not shying away from contact. And he had a lot of really, really physical collisions in college football against some pretty good-sized backs and he always held up. Some guys, their bodies have a way of being able to adapt and adjust to those situations.

"I don’t think he’s a guy you’ll see them roll down into the box on a regular basis for that reason. But on the other hand, he will be versatile enough and capable enough if they want to use him that way at the right moment in time I’m sure he can do that.”

What separated Ward last fall was the timing of his turnovers. With 1 minute and 17 seconds left against Iowa, Ward stepped in front of an out route in the flat and returned it to the Iowa 30-yard line to tee up a game-winning field goal. On that play, Niemann says, it would have been easy for Ward to be content with a routine tackle. He undercut it instead.

Later in the season, against Purdue, Ward took a pick 62 yards back for a touchdown.

"The tougher the opponent, the tighter the situation, the more he loved being in it," Niemann said. "Some guys relish those opportunities and those moments and really take advantage of them. Other guys, sometimes, hope the ball doesn’t get to them their way. That wasn’t the case for him. He always stepped up and was ready for the challenge when the opportunity presented itself.”

As mentioned in this week's chat by my colleague Tom Silverstein, the first domino may be Casey Hayward's health. If Hayward is ready to go Day 1 of OTA's -- as he's hoping for -- the Packers can experiment more with Micah Hyde.

If Clinton-Dix and Pryor are the cream of the crop, the debate for who's next best could be interesting in Green Bay.